Late clock and endgame
What changes when the clock, not the defense, is the constraint.
All families · 4 terms · 3 full, 1 partial, 0 short
2-for-1
Shooting quickly at the end of a period so the offense gets two possessions to the opponent’s one.
Why it is run. Shooting by about twenty-eight seconds at the end of a period gives the offense two possessions to the opponent’s one, worth roughly a point at average efficiency.
What beats it. The opponent holding the ball on the possession in between so the extra one is a heave; and a shot rushed so badly that it costs more than the extra possession gains.
Foul game
Also: fouling up three, intentional fouls
Deliberately fouling late in a game to stop the clock and trade free throws for possessions.
Why it is run. A trailing team needs possessions and the clock is taking them away, so it buys one with a foul and pays in free throws that can be missed; the trade is bad and made only when the alternative is certain.
What beats it. Free throws made; the offense getting the ball to its best shooter before the foul comes.
Hack-a
Also: Hack-a-Shaq
Fouling a poor free-throw shooter away from the ball to give the offense two free throws instead of a possession.
Why it is run. Two free throws by a player who misses most of them are worth less than one ordinary possession, so fouling him away from the ball holds the offense below a point per trip without guarding it.
What beats it. Taking the target off the floor, the target making his free throws, and the away-from-the-play rule, which inside its window makes the foul one free throw by any player and the ball back.
Late clock
The last seconds of the shot clock, when the offense has to get a shot up and the defense can gamble.
Why it is run. Under about seven seconds the constraint is the clock, not the defense, so the order of preference inverts: a contested two that is taken beats a better shot that is not, the actions shrink to one read, and the offensive rebound is worth more.